§ 04.1Services / We Buy Your Totes
Stop paying to
have them hauled
away.
If you are writing cheques to a waste contractor for empty IBC totes, you are paying twice — once for the disposal and once for the container you will buy to replace it. We pay you for the same units, collect them on our own trucks, and put them back into service.
- Payment
- On pickup
- Condition
- Any — dirty is fine
- Minimum
- 4 units local
- Coverage
- 48 states
§ 04.1.1What we pay for
Almost everything. Including the ones you assume are worthless.
The most common thing we hear is 'they're in rough shape, you probably won't want them.' Our intake runs at 93.9% reuse precisely because customers consistently underestimate their own empties.
| Condition | What we do with it | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Clean, tested, recent | Straight to reuse after wash and test | Highest |
| Dirty, residue still in it | Wash programme matched to residue, then reuse | High |
| Stained, cosmetically poor | Reuse as grade B / B- for non-critical duty | Good |
| Cracked bottle, sound cage | Rebottling line — cage and pallet reclaimed | Moderate |
| Bottle and cage both failed | Granulation and mill-grade scrap steel | Scrap value |
| Stainless steel IBC, any condition | Reconditioned for reuse — long service life | Very high |
| Part-full, product remaining | Residue capture, profiling, then wash | Quoted case by case |
A part-full tote is not automatically a problem — it depends entirely on what is in it. Declare it accurately and we will tell you whether it costs or earns.
- 275 and 330 gallon composite IBCs — our core intake
- Non-standard capacities from 120 to 550 gallons
- Stainless and carbon steel IBCs — always worth recovering
- Collapsible and folding formats
- Cages and pallets without bottles
- Mixed, jumbled, weathered yard accumulations
What moves the price
- Previous contents — the biggest factorA tote that held a surfactant is worth considerably more than one that held a pigment concentrate, because permeation staining limits what it can be resold for.
- Quantity and consistencyForty-eight similar units fill a trailer and grade quickly. Twelve mixed units of six different formats cost more to handle per unit.
- Distance and laneA pickup on a lane we already run is worth more to us, so it is worth more to you. Always ask — our backhauls are the single biggest variable in a buy price.
- Loading conditionsDock access and a forklift on site reduce our handling cost. If you have neither, we bring our own and the price reflects it.
- Cage and pallet conditionEven with a failed bottle, a sound galvanised cage on a good pallet carries real value into our rebottling line.
93.9%
Of what we buy goes back into service
Which is why we can pay more than a scrap merchant: we are buying a container, not a weight of plastic.
§ 04.1.2The process
From photos to payment in about a week.
- 01
Send a count and a declaration
Use the form at the top of this page. We need the quantity, the capacity, the previous contents and a rough condition note. Photographs are genuinely useful — email them once you have submitted.
Five minutes of your time
- 02
We quote, usually same day
A real number, per unit, with the pickup terms attached — not a range and not 'subject to inspection' in the way that means 'we will change this later'.
Within one business day
- 03
We confirm the lane and book the truck
You get a collection window. If we can slot you onto an existing lane the number improves, and we will tell you if that is possible.
3–7 business days typical
- 04
Collection and count
Our driver counts against the agreed quantity on site. Discrepancies are resolved there and then, with you present, not discovered a week later at our weigh pad.
Counted in front of you
- 05
Payment
Paid on pickup for agreed quantities. Where a grade-dependent element is involved, that portion settles within five business days of grading, with the per-unit breakdown sent to you.
On pickup, or 5 days for graded elements
- 06
Your certificate
You receive a Reclaim Ledger certificate for the volume diverted — the CO₂e, water, material and landfill figures for exactly what you sent us.
For your own reporting
§ 04.1.3The arithmetic of not paying for disposal
Three line items, one of which should be a credit.
- 262lb CO₂e
- Avoided per tote reused
- 0.65cu yd
- Landfill diverted per unit
- 786gal
- Process water saved per unit
- 48units
- One trailer, one movement
Against a new replacement being manufactured.
Measured crushed.
Virgin resin production water never drawn.
The economics work best at full loads.
- Before
- Disposal invoice + replacement purchase + double freight
- After
- Collection credit + lower-cost reconditioned refills + one freight leg
- Reporting
- Reclaim Ledger certificate for your diverted tonnage
§ 04.1.4Selling to us
The practical questions.
Do I need to clean them first?
No, and please do not — you will spend money doing badly what our wash line does properly. Drain what drains easily, keep the caps on, and declare the previous contents accurately. That is the whole requirement.
What if some are part-full?
Declare it. Depending on the material it may simply be captured and profiled at no cost to you, or it may carry a disposal charge that we will quote upfront. What causes problems is undeclared liquid, which we find at intake and then have to handle without warning.
Will you take them if they held something hazardous?
Most hazardous residues, yes. We publish a declared exclusion list on the certifications page — acutely toxic and P-listed materials, radiological and biohazardous residues, unstabilised reactive monomers and PCBs. Everything else, send the declaration and we will confirm.
How do you pay?
Company cheque on pickup or ACH within two business days, whichever suits you. For grade-dependent portions, settlement follows grading within five business days with the per-unit breakdown attached.
I only have six totes. Is that worth your time?
Within 150 miles of Harvey, yes — our minimum is four. Further out, six units will usually only work if we have a lane passing you. Ask; the worst outcome is we tell you honestly that it does not work and suggest an alternative.
Can I sell and buy in the same transaction?
Yes, and it is the most efficient thing you can do. One trailer brings reconditioned stock in and takes empties out, one freight leg, netted invoice.
Five minutes, no obligation
Send us a count. Find out what your yard is worth.
Most customers are surprised in the right direction. The ones who aren't at least stop paying for disposal.